Karl Decker

Austrian footballer (1921-2005)

Karl Decker (September 5, 1921 - September 27, 2005) was an Austrian footballer and football coach. He played most of his time for First Vienna FC as a midfielder.

Karl Decker
Karl Decker – Memorial in Austria
Personal information
Date of birth 5 September 1921
Place of birth Vienna, Austria
Date of death 27 September 2005(2005-09-27) (aged 84)
Position(s) Attacking midfielder/Inside forward
Youth career
1934 Ottakringer SC
1934–1937 Schwarz-Weiß Wien
1937 Weiße Elf Penzing
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1937–1952 First Vienna FC 226 (244)
1952–1954 SK Sturm Graz 36 (22)
1954–1956 FC Sochaux-Montbéliard 37 (15)
1956–1958 FC Grenchen 1 (0)
National team
1942 Germany 8 (8)
1945–1952 Austria 25 (19)
Teams managed
1951–1952 First Vienna
1952–1954 Sturm Graz
1956–1958 FC Grenchen
1958–1964 Austria
1964–1965 Wiener Sport-Club
1966–1968 Wiener Sport-Club
1968–1970 SK Rapid Wien
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Career

change

He started with minor clubs in Vienna and came to First Vienna FC in 1937. He played in this team until 1952. During the time Nazi Germany controlled Austria, he and his team were very successful.

Decker played eight times for the German national football team. After World War II, he played 25 matches for the Austrian team between 1945 and 1952.[1] In 1944 and 1950, he was the top scorer in the league. He also played for S.K. Sturm Graz (Austria), Sochaux (France) and FC Grenchen (Switzerland).

He was coach of Sturm Graz (1952–1954), FC Grenchen (1956–1958) and SK Rapid Wien (1968–1970). With Rapid, he reached the quarter finals of the European Champions Cup and won in the third round against Real Madrid. In the quarterfinals, they lost against Manchester United.[2]

Between 1958 and 1964, he was coach of the Austrian national football team. In this time, the team was very successful. They won against Scotland (4:1), USSR (3:1 and 1:0), Spain (3:0 in front of 90.726 visitors, the record crowd in Austria), Italy (2:1), England (3:1) and Hungary (2:1 and 2:1). They qualified for the 1962 FIFA World Cup in Chile but the ÖFB did not have enough money to send the team to the competition. The Decker era was one of the best for Austria's national football team.

References

change
  1. Strack-Zimmermann, Benjamin. "Karl Decker". www.national-football-teams.com.
  2. "RapidArchiv - Offizielles Archiv des SK Rapid Wien". www.rapidarchiv.at. Retrieved 2023-11-05.